Welcome to Queensland’s coolest city

Cool, creative and on the up - Logan is making the headlines for all the right reasons, and choosing one of Villa World’s communities in the area could be the best move you ever made.

Logan

Cool, creative and on the up - Logan is making the headlines for all the right reasons, and choosing one of Villa World’s communities in the area could be the best move you ever made.

Long an unsung community, Logan City and its surrounding areas are emerging as one of southeast Queensland’s coolest and most creative pockets. From the monthly Eats & Beats festival and the historic Beenleigh Artisan Distillery to an array of cool cafes and craft markets, Logan is fast becoming a highly desirable community is which to work and live.

Alex Milosevic and Heather Scott, owners of Extraction Artisan Coffee, have lived in Logan for 20 years and seen its transformation into the lively and bustling city it is today. They opened their massively popular café and coffee roastery in April 2016 serving high quality speciality grade coffee and fresh gourmet dishes.

In two years they have developed a strong following and loyal customers who help spread the word about their business via social media. “The comment we get most regularly is that Logan City has been waiting for a business like ours,” Heather says.

Now employing 12 staff, the couple are proud of what they’ve been able to achieve in their hometown. “Logan has so much untapped potential. The support we have had from the local community, our friends and family has been overwhelming, so much so that we named our first house-blend coffee 'Gratitude' to express our thanks,” Heather says.

“I think Queensland is finally starting to take notice of Logan City as a real lifestyle choice for families and business. It's growing up and taking control of its infrastructure and community development. It's ideally located between Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Ipswich and people are finally seeing the advantages of this. The sense of community support and pride at living in Logan has also grown stronger.”

When sisters Cynamon Norris and Amber Norris were growing up in Logan, they used to dream about opening their own café or restaurant. After venturing off, travelling the world for three years and opening their first café together in Mt Gravatt, they returned to their old stomping ground to open their second café, St Coco, in October 2016. The uber hip premises is a magnet for cool crowds in search of perfectly brewed coffee and modern menu items.

“In essence we believe Logan has a strong and bright future,” Cynamon says. “We’re lucky enough to know the area well. We coupled this with some research into local infrastructure and real estate movements and the decision was easy. St Coco brings the inner city to the suburbs - hipster brews and fancy avocado on toast. Cafes are essentially a community in themselves and we love proving a positive social platform for locals,” Cynamon says.

Logan’s proximity to Brisbane and the Gold Coast, its strong community spirit and the quality of life are just some of reasons why Cynamon loves Logan. On her rare Sundays off she enjoys going to the Global Food Village, op-shopping for vintage items and going for a swim at the old quarry.

Then, of course, there’s Eats & Beats. Ask almost any Logan local and they’ll tell you the festival is a calendar favourite. Initiated by Logan City Council, the first event was held at IKEA Logan in March 2015 when 7,000 people showed up for a fun and relaxed night of live music and fabulous food trucks. It’s now held monthly at different locations which have included the Berrinba Wetlands, Underwood Park and Beenleigh Town Square.

Mayor of City of Logan Luke Smith says the idea of Eats & Beats was to create an opportunity for people to relax with family and friends at the end of the week. “Almost half of our population is aged under 30 years, and we have a growing population of young families as new residential communities develop in the city,” he says.

Three of the residential developments in Logan, including Covella, Killara and Chambers Ridge, have been developed by Villa World. The company’s development director of Queensland, Peter Johnson, says the city’s massive transformation made it an obvious choice for Villa World’s masterplanned communities.

“Affordability plays a big part in our corporate ethos, as do the fundamentals of lifestyle and bringing up a family in the right environment,” Peter says. “Logan appeals to families as a place to live, work and play.

“We’re seeing a strong cohort of first-home buyers throughout Logan, but also second-home buyers who are often upgrading to a modern, newly-built home. New homes at Logan also can be tens of thousands of dollars less expensive than in Brisbane, yet everything is still at your doorstep and buyers are recognising this.”

Why everyone is falling for Logan

• Logan is a young and vibrant city, offering a rich choice of lifestyles
• It has urban, rural and semi-rural precincts ideally located in the heart of southeast Queensland
• Its cultural diversity spans 217 ethnicities
• Residents enjoy 973 parks, outdoor gyms, a network of local community centres, plus sport, recreation and cultural facilities across 70 suburbs

• It has 65% green space with the cleanest air in Australia
• Free events available to the community on a regular basis
• Affordable large blocks close to arterials
• Oldest distillery in Australia still operates at Beenleigh
• Logan Entertainment Centre
• Logan Metro Sports Park, about to become home to the Brisbane Roar

5 fab things to do in Logan

Heather Scott of Extraction Artisan Coffee has these insider tips:

1. Spend some quiet time at the Buddhist Temple at Underwood.
2. Attend the Eats & Beats food truck festival.
3. The Beenleigh Rum Distillery tour is great.
4. Go to Daisy Hill State Forest for a picnic or a walk.
5. Sunday morning fruit and veggie market at Woodridge.

Originally published as Welcome to Queensland’s coolest city